mike5100

7 hours ago, dcfish said:

Maybe the caliper holes for the pins itself needs reaming ???

Maybe I'm going to display my lack of understanding of the way brakes are put together, but wouldn't the new pads be the things that had the holes in?  ie the shoes would slide along the pin or pins .... or do the callipers slide along some other pin?

Mike

Both rear callipers were seized on my 2009 400H.  The independent garage fitted new disks and pads for me and said they got the old callipers unseized.  However, after picking up the car I realised that both rear brakes were slightly binding during normal driving (temperature after shortish runs about 100degC whereas front about 25 deg C).  They have taken the slider pins out a couple of times now and cleaned and regreased them, but say they cannot get replacement pins without ordering genuine Lexus 'carriers'.  Does this sound likely?  If not, does anyone know how or where I could simply order two new slider pins for the callipers?

Thanks

Mike

well .... it seems to be fixed for a total of £334 including recharge and new condenser.  This is despite the guy having to reassemble the car because the condenser that was listed for the car was incorrect and he had to order a different one and come to my house to fit the replacement new one.  He had the system on pressure test for about an hour after completing so hopefully won't need to look at it again for a couple of years.

My normal aircon place said they wouldn't touch it because loads of hybrid parts had to come off.  I don't think they did 🤷‍♂️  And I really dread to think what Lexus would have charged me.

I will keep you updated 🤞🏻

Mike

9 hours ago, RX400h said:

I would think so.

Dave - would such a fault be flagged up on a diagnostic, and is there a way of me checking this myself by buying some kind of ODBC connector?

Mike

Is there a list anywhere of independent garages in the UK who specialise in Lexus?

Thanks

Mike

I can't hear or feel the air conditioner engaging and disengaging when I switch it on and off via the car display.  I'm sure it used to change the engine note and a slight clunk could be heard.

Is it possible that it's not getting the signal to switch on?

Mike

The aircon place up here that everyone uses (Flores in Middlesbrough) reckon that my condenser may be on the way out.  They say that they can't fix it because a lot of the hybrid stuff on my 400H has to be removed to get at it.  Is this true, and if so what are Lexus likely to charge me for a replacement condenser? The car is likely to be worth less than the part as it's done 172k miles now, but it would be a shame to lose it because of an aircon problem.

Mike

I've been meaning to get round to check this for a couple of years now 😄.  My radio is much worse at picking up radio stations than it used to be.  It can get some FM stations but virtually no AM or LW (not that I'm too bothered about those).  I thought the first thing I would check would be electrical connections around the aeriel as they are probably the most accessible.

Mike

5 hours ago, RX400h said:

Yes, I believe they do use salt. Perhaps my memory has faded, as I try not to visit relatives during Winter months. My guess is that it is highly unlikely that there would be an option like that with a vehicle that is 14 years old. How often do you have the need to use the squirter?

depends on the conditions and how close you are to lorries you are trying to pass on a single carriageway road .... sometimes need to clear the streaks every couple of minutes.

Mike

49 minutes ago, RX400h said:

Well, I did live in New England for 27 years.....😏

And they must use salt on the roads in New England in winter.  Do you not find that in the few seconds after the wash wipe has cleaned the windscreen beautifully and it's almost dry, a gratuitous extra wipe with no lubrication just leaves smears and white marks across the screen, so you have to do it again.  In the end I worked out a way to squirt fluid without any wipe at all, then flick the control to give a single wipe ..... but I wouldn;t have to do that if there was an option to switch off the drip wipe feature.

Mike

44 minutes ago, RX400h said:

Often, any smears are a sign that your wipers are getting worn and need to be replaced. 

Haha Dave,  you should come and live on the coast of north east england, then you'd understand the issue we have with salt and crap off the winter roads here.  (wipers are new last month)

Mike

I ask becuase it's always annoyed me that in a typical UK winter the extra wipe that the car does about 5 seconds after you have done a wash-wipe causes more problems than its worth.  I've just been driving another make of car where the dealer could switch this function off, and it's MUCH better.

Mike

I hardly think it's worth it.  I test drove a very recent RC300H coupe a couple of weeks ago, and when I pressed the switch for EV mode almost always it soon jumped back out because it needed the engine.  It's slightly better on my daughter's Prius but I know she rarely bothers to try as she can't go very far before the car complains.

Mike

This looked interesting so I have just been out experimenting with my RX400H 2009. Surely it's a joke. I have never come across such a useless and dysfunctional system. Lexus you should be ashamed of yourselves. It's totally confusing and doesn't seem on mine to provide many options at all. For instance there seems to be an option to speak a POI but only when you have actually got a map displayed. Even then the available POIs seem to be limited entirely to restaurants.

I thought it would be quite good to switch between info and consumption and the map but there doesn't seem to be any way of doing that on my car.

Mike

Just thought I would update this thread.

Three tanks after picking up the car from Lexus dealer after new battery fitted.

28.5 mpg, 28.6 then 28.1 (real mpg's calculated by filling the tank and zeroing the tripmeter)

Did the ISC learning procedure as described without the diagnostic kit.

First tank 29.1 mpg second tank 28.1 mpg

All are UK gallons and all tanks except the best one were my normal driving pattern for the week. The other one was a run to London on the A1 at 70-75mph

The cars computer consistently displayed about 1mpg better than reality.

Mike

It is not possible to get the click in purpose made roof bars (the cross rails) in the UK. The part number seems to be PT278-48105EB If any US dealer is able to obtain these and ship to my UK address I would appreciate it

Thanks

Mike

In my case it's definitely an electrical burning smell (I think :D ), and when it happens it's usually on start-up. Except once in traffic but then I put it down to the car in front. Once after smelling it from the driver's seat I went round the outside of the car but couldn't detect it anywhere (ie coming up from engine well via wiper area, or out via either of the wheel arches).

Mike

I have noticed the same with my 2009 RX400H which I have just bought. It's a bit worrying, hope others can reassure us

Mike

Thanks Mason

Mike

Sorry for posting this query again here, but I'm not sure it's getting picked up on the 'sticky'

Do we know if this procedure is applicable to any models later than the 2006 year mentioned in the TSB? (because I know that's a query my dealership will raise if they haven't seen it before)

Mike

wow thanks guys. I have the same problem as the OP on the Rx400H I have just bought. And I was going to ask them to replace the rain sensor. I will try that 'fix'

Mike

Do we know if this procedure is applicable to any models later than the 2006 year mentioned in the TSB? (because I know that's a query my dealership will raise if they haven't seen it before)

Mike

that's interesting Phil. The 450H I tested was a 2010 and it put me off so much I went for an older RX400H. It's good to know that if in a couple of years time I trade the 400 for a 450, there should be some improvements rather than a backward step.

Mike

I took delivery this week of a new 2013 RX450h after having the original RX400h since April 2005. Since it's been 7 model years of advancements I expected the new 450h to be more technically advanced then my 400h (it truly is), but I am amazed how much better it is overall. The 2013 handles much better, is quieter, and the transitions from no engine to having the engine cut on are not noticeable like they were on the 400h; especially at traffic lights. The 2013 feels much more substantial and you really don't hear the road noise or the loud engine go-cart like sounds that I could hear when I accelerated with the 400h.

I special ordered this 450h as I wanted the luxury package, the Mark Levinson audio system and Remote Start; not something that the Washington, DC Lexus dealers ever have in stock orders. My thoughts were that I wanted the options that I did not get or were not even available back on the 2006 model and I was willing to wait for my exact vehicle. It took 3 months but well worth the wait. I also had the Parts Dept order the Sport Appearance Package wheels (F-Sport wheels that are not dark graphite) which were switched out after my RXh arrived. The Luxury Package semi-aniline leather is very rich looking and the LED headlights (comes on the AWD version of the Luxury Pkg) are amazing at night and very contemporary looking during the daytime. I selected the Stargazer Black exterior with the new Saddle interior. It was a good choice as the metallic in the exterior color is brought out more by the saddle leather.

The only negative that I have on the 2013 is that Lexus relocated the spare tire inside the rear compartment as well as the 12 volt battery from under the hood and therefore eliminated the storage compartments that were under the rear cover on the 400h. But otherwise this new 450h is truly elegant and a pleasure to drive.

Funny but I have just bought a RX400H rather than a 450H for exactly the reasons you quote above. All I can say is there must be a big improvement on the 450H between 2010 and 2013, because I found the 2010 450 very noisy, never running on battery, and with awful pitch and choppy oscillations (roll was controlled brilliantly though). I first tried the SE version with springs and thought there must be something wrong. The luxury version with the air suspension was better and I was almost tempted but after I took it down a country road I realised that the ride would constantly annoy me. Then I tried a 2009 400H (springs) and found it acceptable. I think from other posts the problem may be the low profile tyres fitted to both 450's that I drove. I asked about swapping the wheels and tyres but it was very expensive.

I found the transitions fine on all models but the engine on the 450 noisier than the 400 This combined with bad road noise from the back (probably those tyres again) and persistent rattles from both front doors, helped me make the decision.

I agree with you though that the 450 feels more substantial (too substantial for me :D ) And I am going to miss all the tech things like smart start, cooled seats, wafting aircon, soft close doors, massage seats, electric blinds, fridge etc ..... strange .... as these were all available in my 13 year old LS430 that has just bitten the dust.

Mike